A report from Human Rights Watch was published on 1st August, and highlights the lack of action by the Burma government to stop escalating sectarian violence between two Burmese minority populations, the Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, in June 2012.
The sectarian clashes began when an incendiary pamphlet was circulated, claiming that an Arakan woman was raped and killed by three Muslim men.
iolent reprisals by both communities continued, and escalated, until the military junta, which governs Burma, declared a state of emergency in Rakhine State on 10th June.
The state of emergency resulted in a concerted period of violence being used against Rohingya communities by state security forces. The Human Rights Watch report claims that 78 people reported to have been killed is a conservative figure, and that 100,000 persons have been displaced.
Sadiq Khan MP said: “The violence towards the Muslim Rohingya is extremely serious and causing unnecessary bloodshed and suffering.
"It is crucial that the violence ends immediately. Especially in this holy month of Ramadhan, I have been inundated with British citizens expressing concern about the plight of these innocent Burmese Muslims.
“I have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development asking that the British government take action to stop the violence and provide aid to those who need it.
“We have seen positive actions from the Burmese government in recent years – such as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest – but they need to realise that the first job of government is to secure the safety of all citizens.
“It is important that the British government uses all its influence to end this savage treatment of the Rohingya community by the Burmese authorities as a matter of urgency.”
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